This page lists a few basic BASH commands that you should be familiar with. Remember that the man command is your friend. Remember that you can search within manual pages (/).
uname – shows basic information about the system
uname -a – show all
uname -r – kernel release
lsb_release -a – shows distribution specific information
ls – list the current directory
ls -la – long listing of all files (inc. hidden)
mv – move/rename file
cp – copy file
rmdir, mkdir – remove/create directory
rm – remove file (use with caution!)
rm -i – remove interactively (asks)
chmod – change file permissions
chown – change file group/owner
who – show who is logged in
w – show who is logged in and their task
last – show listing of last logged users
top (interactive, exit by q)
ps – report snapshot of current process(es). Note that it has two types of syntax, see man ps
kill – send signal to a process
sort
uniq
awk
grep
cut
wc
wc -l – count lines
sed
tr
These are up to some level interactive. Make sure you are at least able to edit and save a file using vim or vi. It is sometimes very helpful on some simpler systems.
nano
pico
vim – has 'edit' and 'command' mode. Syntax highlight can be turned on :syn on
emacs
ssh – secure shell
scp – secure copy
ping – test response of a machine (i.e.: if it is online)